Government ready to allot jetty to Golden Globe casino

TNN | Updated: Dec 21, 2017, 10:55 IST

PANAJI: The state government told the high court of Bombay at Goa, on Wednesday, that Golden Globe Hotels Pvt Ltd (GGHPL) will be issued a jetty within a week for MV San Domino, the vessel hired by the company to operate its casino from till repair works on MV Lucky Seven are completed. GGHPL, a subsidiary of former Haryana minister Gopal Kanda’s MDLR Group, had filed an application seeking direction to Captain of Ports (CoP) to allot a jetty to MV San Domino instead of MV Lucky Seven. Counsel for the petitioner, senior advocate Surendra Dessai told the court that repair work on MV Lucky Seven will take some more time and that, in the interim period, GGHPL has hired MV San Domino to operate its offshore casino from. MV San Domino has remained in the Mandovi for the last eight years awaiting a casino license. The vessel entered the waters of the Mandovi on February 17, 2009. It has four decks — three dedicated to casinos. When the matter came up for hearing before justice N M Jamdar, advocate general Dattaprasad Lawande told the court that orders for issuing a jetty to the petitioner will be done within a period of week. During hearing, Captain of Ports James Braganza in an affidavit submitted that “the petitioner has applied for allotment of jetty, which will be given to the petitioner”. The high court said that it is clear the state government has decided to allot a jetty to MV San Domino. To ensure compliance, court has posted the next hearing on the application for January 9, 2018.

“Our plan is to start operations in the new year, sometime in mid-January 2018, probably after we complete the interiors. We have hired MV San Domino for one year. The vessel already has operating licenses and sea worthiness certificate. All that is left is to refurnish the interiors. Otherwise the vessel is ready for operations. We already have the staff and casino equipment. We will use the license for this vessel till MV Lucky Seven is repaired,” one of the directors of MV Lucky Seven told TOI. MV Lucky Seven is in the dry dock and the hull will require more time to repair, he said, adding that the vessel will be ready for operation possibly by February end.